\n<\/p>\n
SCDF also noted that the coroner had found its interventions to be appropriate and timely, and that the requests for the birth certificate would not have changed the outcome.<\/p>\n
SCDF said it agrees with the coroner’s observation that paramedics should exercise flexibility in emergency situations when patients need to be brought to hospital as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
It added that this was its standard operating procedure (SOP) and that all its paramedics are “trained to prioritise patient care over compliance with administrative procedures”.<\/p>\n
“This has always been emphasised and reinforced across all our units to all our officers.”<\/p>\n
Having a birth certificate or identity card can “help enhance the medical interventions and outcome” for the victim by facilitating access to the patient’s medical history and continuity of care at the hospital, said SCDF.<\/p>\n
“That said, this should not hinder or delay any conveyance or emergency medical treatment that a patient requires, and this is indeed SCDF\u2019s longstanding SOP.”<\/p>\n
SCDF also accepted the coroner’s finding that there could have been better and calmer communication with the parents.<\/p>\n
It added that emergency personnel often operate in fast-paced conditions requiring time-critical decisions, and that in this case, medical treatment continued even as the birth certificate was requested.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n